IJSRD - International Journal for Scientific Research & Development| Vol.
4, Issue 07, 2016 | ISSN (online): 2321-0613
Environmental Affects of Wind Energy
Shakeeb Anjum Malik1 Shujait Ali Jafri2 Atul Kumar Dadhich3
1,2
M. Tech Scholar 3Assistant Professor
1,2,3
Department of Electronics & Electrical Engineering
1,2,3
Vivekananda Global University, Jaipur, India
Abstract Human being has captured the energy in wind for
many of years, both for sailboats and powering wind engines
at land. Of all non-conventional energy resources, wind
power is the grown up in terms of commercial growth. This
resource of energy is fascinating due of its renewable nature
and its free of cost availability. Strength for growth is larger,
and the worlds capacity is far greater than the worlds total
energy utilization. Globally, a total capacity of around about
435 GW has been set up so far, with a yearly growth of about
100 TWh. The most difficult tasks for more growth are
attached to economy, use of land, environment affects and
grid strength. The development of non-conventional energy
resources has never before seen over the last 30 years. Wind
energy and solar power are in service with double figure
development rates since 2000. No other part of the energy
zone has grown this kind of faster growth. Wind power is the
most economical and more developing power plant
technology, because of lowering set up costs, no fuel costs
are required as wind is freely available and time required for
construction is also smaller a year or so , in comparison to
over 10 to 15 years to construct a nuclear power plant. The
impacts of wind energy on the environment most of the time
are taken to be positive, by means of the production of non-
conventional energy and the potential movements of mining
works, air pollution, and release of greenhouse gases is
linked with conventional energy sources such as fossil fuels
like coal and petroleum. The deep knowledge understanding
of the environmental and economic impacts of any one
energy resource lies in complete knowledge of how that
energy resource moves or is moved by various energy
resources, and it in turn lies with more complete
understanding of the environmental and economic impacts of
all other energy sources available. This study gives an
analysis to understand those environmental impacts, both
positive and negative in nature.
Key words: Environmental Effects, Ecological Impacts,
Renewable Energy, Wind Energy, Human Health
I. INTRODUCTION
In more recent times, the development of capacity to
produce electrical power from wind energy has been very
fast, To the great degree that wind energy lowers the
requirement for electricity production employing other
resources of energy, it can lower the negative environmental
effects of those other resources, such as release of
atmospheric pollution and water pollution, also taking into
account greenhouse gases; production of nuclear hazards;
deterioration of portion of land due to mining work; and
damming of rivers also causes weakening of land portion
around the dam. Production of electric power by means of
wind energy has the strength to lower environmental effects,
because unlike conventional generators that employ fossil
fuel, it does not result in the production of atmospheric
impurities or thermal pollution, and it has been desirable to
many governments, organizations, and individuals. But
others have targeted on antagonistic environmental effects
of wind-energy facilities, which take into visual and other
affects on human beings; and effects on environmental
conditions, such as the killing of wildlife, most importantly
birds and bats, some environmental impacts of wind-energy
facilities, particularly those concerning means of
conveyance.
II. NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES
At this time, the renowned choices to energy generation of
conventional sources are non-conventional energy sources
and nuclear energy. There lie a lot of social and
environmental issues with nuclear energy. Non-conventional
energy sources are suitable due to their offerings to lower
greenhouse gases and national safety of energy supply
without the mix up of nuclear energy. Official definitions of
non-conventional energy resources vary from one nation to
the nation, but there is great understanding with the entities
that wind energy, photovoltaic, and solar thermal energy is
considered to be renewable forms of energy. Other resources
that are most taken as renewable take into account
hydropower and biomass. Greater reliance on renewable
energy sources is mix up by different restrictions to put into
practice. Most of the non-conventional energy technologies
come across cost drawbacks in comparison with the
traditional conventional energy technologies. Following
points are noted about the non-conventional energy
resources:
The non-conventional energy resources are freely
available in nature. With regard to the energy experts
the renewable energy potential of India is estimated as
95,000 MW.
These are renewable sources of energy and can be
renewed with minimum effort and money.
The non-conventional energy resources are pollution
free and eco-friendly.
III. WIND ENERGY
Fig. 1: Cost of Wind Power Related to Annual Mean Wind
Speed.
Source: SINTEF Centre for Energy Research.
Wind power is a somewhat developed technology. It
contends emulously with various energy sources in terms of
cost, environmental impacts and state of being usable. With
the exception of hydro power, wind power is closer to
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commercial profitable than any of the other non-
conventional energy sources, however better project
economy is a greater incitement for wind power [2]. Wind
energy is broadly usable because wind resources are
available in most of the countries. Among the non-
conventional energy technologies, wind energy is somewhat
developed and many nations have find a solution of cost and
technology challenges [3].
Wind is clean, free of cost, native to a land or
region and unlimited available in plenty. Wind turbines do
not require any type of fuel as in conventional system, so
there are no environmental threats or deterioration from the
examination, lineage, transportation, processing or
arrangement of fuel. Not only is generation produced with
zero release of carbon dioxide but it also does not emit
harmful pollutants such as mercury or conventional air
pollutants such as smog-forming nitrogen dioxide and acid
rain-forming sulphur dioxide[4].Wind energy power
projects must be placed in relation with the planning act of
the regional and the municipal plans. The regional plans
stipulate general sites for wind power projects and various
rules and regulations for integrating wind turbines with
other land-uses. The municipal plans stipulate objectives
and desires in connection to wind energy and give a more
complete basis for turbine site, number of turbines, height of
turbine, appearance and positioning of turbine [5]. Wind
energy is very clean and environmentally compatible
technology that generates electric power. Its renewable
nature and the objective consensus it does not pollute the
atmosphere during its working time makes it one of the most
encouraging and inspiring energy systems for lowering
environmental issues both at global, national and local
levels.
IV. ENVIRONMENTAL AFFECTS OF WIND ENERGY
Working of wind power has zero release of harmful
substances and pollutants into the atmosphere and its
surrounding. It does not add to the rising concern of global
warming, the fuel is available freely in nature, and is
distributed quite evenly globally. The energy required to
produce and set up the turbine amounts to three months of
turbine production. But, as with other resources of energy,
wind power also have an environmental affect. The affect on
wildlife is likely low considered to other forms of human
and industrial activity. Nevertheless, negative effects on
certain populations of sensitive species are possible, and
struggle to resolve these effects should be taken into account
in the planning phase. Wind energy, like any other industrial
work, may lead to affects on the environment and its
surrounding which should be examined and resolved [6].
A. Environmental Benefits
What are the benefits to the environment that is caused by
wind energy? The most basic is, wind energy do not cause
water or air pollution, and do not generate any type of
hazardous waste material as well. Nevertheless, wind power
does not employ natural resources like oil, gas or coal and
hence will not lead to any harm to the environment by
means of resource transportation and lineage and also do not
require consequent amounts of water at the time of working
[5].
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(IJSRD/Vol. 4/Issue 07/2016/262)
Wind energy is not only a favourable electricity
production technology that lowers the release of other
pollutants such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and
nitrogen oxide it also abstain notable amounts of external
costs of traditional conventional fossil fuel-based electricity
production[6]. The large scale utilization of wind energy
should be made so as to solve the issue of global warming
which is the main concern of environmental threat to the
modern world around the globe. Wind energy power plants
are regarded a green power technology because it has only a
very small affects on the environment and its surroundings.
A wind energy power plant doesnt generate air pollutants or
greenhouse gases [7].
Wind energy is a flawless renewable energy
because of the following mentioned points:
It is a free from pollution, greatly sustainable form of
energy
It doesn't require fuel as air freely and abduntly
available in nature around the globe
It doesn't create harmful greenhouse gases due to
which there is no threat to the atmosphere
It doesn't generate toxic and harmful radioactive waste
as air is the natural fuel
B. Disadvantages
Energy production by any means affect the atmosphere in
some way or the other, and wind energy is no different from
that. Like every other means of energy technology, wind
power plants do have some impact on the environment.
Wind turbines cause almost no release of harmful waste at
the time of their working and very small at the time of their
manufacture and designing, setup, maintenance and
removal. As Compared to the environmental effects of
conventional energy resources, the environmental effects of
wind power is somewhat minor.
Wind farms are mostly setup in areas that has
previously been influenced by land clearing. The vegetation
clearing and ground perturbations need for wind farms
smaller as compare to conventional coal mines and coal-
fired power plants [7]. If wind farms are dismantled, the
land shape can be turn back to its already existing condition.
The most difficult task is to employ wind as a source of
power is that the wind is stopping and starting at intervals
and it does not always produce an air current when power is
required. Wind energy cannot be stored directly unless
batteries are employed; and not all winds can be utilized for
doing useful work to meet the timing of power requirements
[3].
Good wind locations are mostly sited in
inaccessible locations, far away from cities where the
electric power is required in greater capacity. Wind resource
implementation may contend emulously with other uses for
the land and those alternative uses may be more largely
valued than power generation from the wind [4]. In spite of
wind power plants have however smaller affect on the
environment in comparison to the other traditional
conventional power plants, there is some issues over the
noise generated by the rotor blades, aesthetical affects, and
sometimes the birds have been killed by flying into the
rotors of the wind turbine. Most of these concerns have been
solved or greatly lowered by means of technological
implementation or by suitably siting and sizing of wind
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power plants on a rated scale. To the greater range that we
understand how, when, and where wind-energy
implementation most unfavourable impacts on organisms
and their natural habitat, it will be feasible to reduce future
affects by means of careful sitting and sizing choices.
V. ECOLOGICAL AFFECTS
There are two different ways that wind-energy
implementation may affect ecosystem structure and
functioning by means of direct affects on every organisms
and by means of affect on their natural living structure and
functioning. Environmental concerns of wind-energy system
can spread across a broad area of space scales, from the area
of a single turbine to portion of land, regions, and the planet,
and an area of lasting scales from short-term loud to long-
term effects on natural living structure and effects on
presence of living creature [5]. The ecological affects of
wind-energy facilities are not simpler, and can change with
space and lasting scale, site, season, weather, type of
ecosystem, group of living organisms, and other factors.
Furthermore, most of the affects are likely incorporates
current and previous data and ecological effects can act in
complex modes at wind energy facilities and at other
locations linked with changed land-use practices and other
anthropogenous perturbations [4].
Wind turbines cause death of many birds and bats
by means of striking, most of the time with the blades of
turbine. Species differ in their susceptibility to injury, in the
probability that causes death will have greater current and
previous living communities, and in the range to which their
deaths are exposed7]. The data are not sufficient to guess
comparative threat to perching bird and other small birds. It
is discovered that as turbines become bigger and acquire a
higher speed, the threat to the more number of bats and
other night moving passerines at these height will rise [1].
The construction and systematic functioning facilities also
changes ecosystem structure by means vegetation clearing,
soil disorder and potential for erosion, and noise. Changing
of vegetation, taking into account forest clearing, shows the
most important potential change by means of fragmentation
and loss of natural living places for some species [6].
Alterations in forest formation and the discovering of
different bigger climatic conditions and rise in the amount of
forest edge. Different living components in the entire
ecosystem answer differently to these alterations. There
might also be significant mix up between natural living
places changes and the risk of deaths, such as bat searching
for food behaviour near wind turbines [6].
A quality research should be conducted before
siting, sizing and manufacturing and after construction of
wind-energy facilities to explain the strength and make real
ecological affects of wind growth [3]. Pre-siting and sizing
research study should explain the potential for affects to
occur and the possible to incorporate current and existing
data affects in the background of other locations being
developed. Likely affects could be explained in relation to
other potentially growth able locations. Post-construction
research studies should target on discovering affects, real
versus predicted risk problems, source mechanisms of
affects, and potential solving techniques to lower risk and
recovery of waste land of disturbed locations.
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VI. AFFECTS ON HUMAN BEINGS
The affects on human beings take into account affects
concerning beauty and appearance; affects on lifestyle
resources, such as momentous, holy, study of past, and
leisure locations; affects on health of human and prosperity,
most importantly from noise in the surrounding and from
dark unsteady flash of light; economical and financial
affects; and the strength for electromagnetic mix up with TV
and radio widespread, mobile phones, and radar. This is not
a fully comprehensive list of all possible human affects from
wind-energy projects and site locations [6]. Wind energy
projects can affect in both positive and negative ways on
health of human beings. The positive effects can be acquired
by means of improval in air quality, these positive affects
(i.e. advantages) to health of humans and prosperity are
mixed up; they are feel by people residing in places where
traditional methods of power production are employed less
because wind energy can be employed as replacement in the
regional market. In contrast, to the range that wind-energy
projects create negative effects on health of human beings
and their prosperity, the affects are feel mainly by people
residing closer to wind turbines that are impacted by noise
and dark diming of lights.
VII. CULTURAL AFFECTS
Wind-energy facilities put into existence both positive and
negative leisure affect. On the positive side of wind energy
system, many projects are entered on a list as tourist
location: some putforth tours or give notification areas in
regard to the wind energy in general; and many are taking
into account by mixing number of site centres. There are
types of potential negative effects on leisure advancement:
direct impacts and indirect impacts. Direct affects can be the
outcome when already available leisure activities are either
rule out or need changing of route near a wind-energy
facility. Indirect affects takes into account leisure affects
that may impact the leisure experience. These affects can
take place when beautiful or natural values are important to
the leisure experience. In studying affects on monomentous,
holy, and study of past sites, the basic problem is that no
eternal damage should be done that would impact the
integrity of the location selected. May or may not a wind-
energy project would harm the resource may lies on the
particular nature of the momentous resources involved [6].
In contrast with housing growths, wind-energy
projects cannot be moved from view, except beyond
mediation a precise description of a place and flora and
fauna of that particular site. Such problems are likely to be
there as wind projects are suggested in lifestyle areas, and
knowledge as to what contributes an undue affects to
momentous or holy locations and areas will be necessary.
VIII. LOCAL ECONOMIC AND VISUAL AFFECTS
Wind-energy power projects can have a greater potential of
economical and financial affects, both in positive and
negative modes. Some of those affects are experient at the
national or local level; these takes into account, tax credits
and other short lived bonus or reward to encourage wind-
energy power generation, as well as impacts of wind energy
on local energy pricing [6].
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Regional identification and clear affects are
important environmental issues in finding wind farm
functions in relation to wind energy growth as regional and
clear impacts are by nature and changing over period of time
and place. The distinguishing feature of wind g may cause
growth may lead to regional and visual impacts. These
feature takes into account the turbines (size, height, number,
material and colour), passage and site tracks, substation
buildings, compounds, grid connection, anemometer masts,
and transmission lines. Another feature of wind farms is that
they are not permanently fixed, so the place where the wind
farm has been constructed and placed can return to its
normal position after the take out of the service phase.
While visual effects are very particular to the location at a
specific wind farm, several features in the design siting and
sizing of wind farms have been located to lower their
potential visual affects [4].
IX. AFFECT OF NOISE
Noise from wind turbine growth has been one of the most
researched environmental affect of this technology. Noise,
as compare to regional and visual effects, can be calculated
and obtained fairly by ease. As with any machine having
moveable parts, wind turbines produce noise at the time of
working [6]. There are two different sources of noise in
wind turbines:
Mechanical noise because of the gearbox and generator
associated with wind turbine
Aerodynamic noise because of mix up of the wind
turbine blades with the moving wind.
Experienced gained in progressing wind farms
propose that noise from wind turbines is normally very low
[7]. The noise from the wind turbine shows that its a small
scale issue in general terms and complaints about the noise
also suggest that noise from the wind power projects are
very occasional and can normally be solved out with ease.
X. AFFECTS ON USAGE OF LAND USE
National bodies consider the growth of wind farms in their
ecomical and fiscal strategies for wind energy power
projects. Decisions on siting and sizing should be made with
taking into account to other land users. National and local
land-use planners must discuss whether a power project is
compatible with already available and planned adjacent
uses, whether it will add negatively the overall features of
the area nearby, whether it will disturb already set up
communities, and whether it will be integrated into the
already available areas. Land usage planning rules and
regulations in some nations recommend avoiding areas with
protected position; in others, particular areas have been
marked for potential wind farm implementation [4].
XI. REDUCE THE NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AFFECTS OF
WIND ENERGY POWER PLANTS
The negative environmental and atmospheric effects from
wind energy in set up are much reduced in strength than
those generated by traditional conventional energies, but
they still have to predicted and solved when required. There
are particular modes that must be in place before an area can
be taken as important and suitable for a wind farm
development. These conditions take into account factors
Environmental Affects of Wind Energy
(IJSRD/Vol. 4/Issue 07/2016/262)
such as: wind climate, a precise description of place, supply
line and ecological restrictions.
A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is the
method employed to explain the unfavourable effects of any
plans and programs on the environmental conditions.
National, regional and local governments must embark
SEAs of all wind energy power plans and programs that
have the strength for important environmental impacts. The
ecological affect of wind-energy facilities are not simpler,
and can change with space and land scale, location, season,
weather, ecosystem type, species, and other important
factors. Furthermore, many of the effects are liable
incorporating all current and previous data and ecological
effects can act in complex modes at wind energy facilities
and at other sites linked with changed land-usage practices
and other anthropogenous perturbations. Due to this
complexity, explaining ecological affects of wind-energy
growth is difficult task and depends on assimilation of
knowledge factors that are not sufficiently studied. In spite
this, many patterns are starting to rise from the currently
existing information. Increased studies employing intense
scientific techniques will be very important to filling already
available information gaps and enhance dependability of
statements.
XII. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we must resolve that if we have to generate
electricity from the wind power, it is absolutely better than
some other option to generate it in a way which has the
lowest feasible affect on the environmental conditions. From
a technical and economical perspective, the most develop
form of non-conventional and clean and green energy is
wind energy. It can significantly chip in to struggle for
victory in environmental change while at the same time
giving different environmental, social and economic
advantages. Conversely, it is important to minimize the
affects of the wind energy, especially in relation to
environment (preservation of protected areas) and human
health (noise and visual impact).
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